Self-propelled water sprinkler



May 23, 1961 J. ROSENKRANZ SELF-PROPELLED WATER SPRINKLER 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Nov. 14, 1958 INVENTOR. 10455 903511414914 2 y 1951 J.ROSENKRANZ 2,985,380

SELF-PROPELLED WATER SPRINKLER Filed Nov. 14, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2r/IIIiII/Illllllllllll BY V May 23, 1961 J. ROSENKRANZ 2,985,380

SELF-PROPELLED WATER SPRINKLER Filed Nov. 14, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet sUnited States Patent SELF-PROPELLED WATER SPRINKLER Jules Rosenkranz,New York, N.Y., assignor to Lafayette Brass Mfg. Co., Inc., acorporation of {New York Filed Nov. 14, 1958, Ser. No. 774,058

-'1 Claim. (Cl. 239183) This invention relates to the art of watersprinklers, more particularly of the self-propelled type.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a water sprinkler ofthe above type that is neat, compact and has but few relatively simpleparts that may readily be assembled at relatively low cost and is notlikely to become deranged even with long use, which will dependablyadvance at relatively slow speed in only a forward direction along aguided path, solely under the action of water passing therethrough intothe spray head thereof and will operate without jamming and requirerelatively few adjustments and may readily be lubricated.

According to the invention, these objects are accomplished by thearrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described, and moreparticularly recited in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of variouspossible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. l is a perspective view of the unit,

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof with the casing broken away to expose theinterior of'the unit,

' Fig. 3 'is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and

Fig. 4'is a bottom plan view of the unit.

Referring now to the"drawings, the unit comprises a casing ll'havingsidewalls 12 and 13, a front wall 14, a rearwall 15 and a top wall 16.

Positioned in the casing and extending longitudinally thereof from. itsrear wall'15 is a'castin'g'18 which comprises a vertical, substantiallyrectangular plate 19, having a flange 21 at the endlhereof adjacent therear wall 15, said flange extending at right aiigle'sto the plate andhaving a top wall 22. -Depending fronithe lower edge of the castingadjacent the flange 21 thereof is a substantially rectangular hollowblock 24, the open bottom of which is normally closed by means of arectangular gasket 25 over which a rectangular plate 26 is positioned,the gasket and the plate being secured to the block by means of screws29. The rear of the block has a downwardly inclined nipple 31,preferably formedintegral therewith, which is in communication with theinterior of the block 24.

The nipple 31 is internally threaded at its outer end to receive asuitable connector to which a hose may be applied. The nipple 31, asshown in Fig. 4, has lateral wings 33 which may be secured to tongues 34struck out from the recess 35 in the rear wall of the casing 11 throughwhich the nipple 31 extends, thus securely retaining the casting 18 inposition.

As shown in Fig. 3, the top wall 22 of the flange of the casting has anopening 36 in which'is secured a bushing 37. The top wall 38 of theblock 24 has an opening 39 axially aligned with the opening 36 in thetop wall 22 of the flange. Positioned in said opening 39 is a sleeve 41,illustratively of neoprene, which defines a bushing, the lower end ofthe sleeve having an annular flange 42 positioned beneath the top wall38 of the block 2,4. The upper end of the sleeve 41 extends above theice top wall 38 and is encompassed by the side wall of a cup-shapedspacer washer 43.

Extending through the bushing 41, the spacer washer- 47 in position toprevent upward movement of the shaft" 44 and also to retain a gasket 48encompassing the shaft, positioned between said washer 47 and the flangeend of the bushing 41. i

The shaft 44 which is hollow, extends through an opening 51 in the topwall 16 of the casing 11 and is threaded at its upper end to receive aconventional double jet sprinkler head 52, which upon flow of waterthrough the two jets 53 thereof, will rotate the shaft 44 and the worm45.

The worm 45 meshes with a worm gear 54, also of neoprene, which isrotatably mounted on a stud shaft 55 affixed to the plate 19 of thecasting 18 and extending laterally outward therefrom toward the sidewall 12 of the casing 11. The gear 54 has a stud 56 extending laterallyoutward from the side thereof and preferably molded integrally therewithwhich is designed to engage the teeth 57 of a star wheel 58 mounted onone end of a shaft 59 extending laterally through the plate 19 androtatably mounted with respect thereto. The other end of the shaft 59mounts a ratchet wheel 61 and a gear 62, said ratchet wheel and saidgear being molded as an integral unit. Associated with the ratchet wheel'61 is a ratchet arm' 63 which, 'as shown in'Fig. 3,- is pivotallymounted as at 64 at one end, to the upper end of the vertical leg of anL-shaped bracket 65 secured as by screws66 to the upper'edge of thecasting18. The ratchet arm'63 is bent at right angles at its free end 67and adapted to engage the teeth' of the ratchet wheel 61. The free endof the arm 63 is resiliently urged against the ratchet wheel bymean's ofa leaf spring 71 affixed at one end to a lateral finger 72 formedrigidly with the vertical leg of the bracket 65, the free end of theleaf spring bearing against the upper edge of the pivoted arm 63 tourge. the latter downwardly against the ratchet wheel. .T I F l 'Thegear 62 which is secured to theshaft 59 meshes with a main drive gear73, also of neoprene, which is secured as by set screw 74 to the axle 75of the unit. As shown in Figs. 2. and 4, the axle extends transverselyacross the unit through notches 76 in its side walls 12 and .13. Theaxle is journalled in a sleeve or bushing 77 formed integral with thecasting at its lower edge and extending at right angles thereto.

The axle 75 also extends through transversely aligned openings 81 in theside walls of an inverted U-shaped channel member 82 which extendsparallel to the side wall of the casing 11. One end of the channelmember has a supporting strip 83 secured thereto, the other end of thesupporting strip having a right angle portion which is secured to theplate 19 as by screws 84. The forward end of the channel member 82extends through a corresponding notch in the front wall 14 of the casingand is secured thereto by an inwardly bent tongue 85 secured to the topwall of the channel member by screws 86.

Each of the ends of the axle 75 mounts a Wheel 87, illustratively with arubber periphery and the top front end of the channel member mounts abracket 88 reversely bent at its free end which rotatably supports astud shaft 89 to the lower end of which a yoke 91 is secured, the legsof the latter straddling a roller 92 which is rotat- Patented May 23,1961 ably mounted therebetween, said roller having a deep annular groovefor the purpose hereinafter described. Desirably, a coil spring 93encompasses the shaft 89 between the cross piece 9'4 of the yoke and theinturned leg 95 of the bracket so that the roller 92 is normallyresiliently urged downwardly, the downward movement being restrained bya split ring 96 encompassing the shaft 89 and being positioned in anannular groove therein, said split ring abutting against theleg 95 ofthe bracket- In the operation of the unit, to water a garden, forexample, a hose is connected to the nipple 31 at the end of the casing.The hose is then curled so that it extends beneath the unit between thewheels 87 thereof, the roller 92 riding over such hose. When water,under pressure is applied to the hose, as shown in Fig. 3, such waterwill flow through the nipple 31 into the block 24 and thence through thehollow tube 44 into the sprinkler head 52. The water will thereupon be,ejected from the two jets 53 of the sprinkler head in substantiallyopposite directions to impart torque to the shaft to rotate the latter.Upon rotation of the shaft 44, the worm 45 thereon will also rotate todrive the worm gear 54,, say in a clockwise direction, referringto-Fig.3. With each revolution of the worm gear 54, the stud 56 thereon willengage one of the teeth 57 of the star wheel 58, to rotate the latter arelatively short distance. It is apparent therefore, that manyrotataions of the worm gear 54 are required to effect a single. rotationof the star wheel 53. In the illustrative embodiment, since there arethirteen teeth on the star wheel 58 it will require thirteen rota- 9tions of the worm gear for one full rotation of the star wheel and theshaft 59 on .which it is mounted.

Rotation of the worm gear 54 in a clockwise direction will effectrotation of the star wheel 58 me counterclockwise direction to rotatethe ratchetwheel 61 and gear 62 also mounted on shaft 59 :incorresponding direction. This in turn will rotate the main'drive gear 73in a clockwise direction to effect advance of the unit to the right fromthe position shown in Fig. 3 so that the roller 92 will ride alongfthehose to be guided thereby.

By reason of the ratchet arm 63, which is urged by leaf spring 71against ratchet wheel 61, the ratchet wheel and hence the gear 62 canonly rotate in a counterclockwise direction so that only forwardmovement of the Wheels 87 carried by axle 75, which is driven by maingear, 73 can be effected.

With the equipment above described, by laying out the hose so that it ispositioned adjacent the area to be sprinkled, the unit will be guided bythe hose, and as the unit advances at relatively slow speed, completeand even watering is effected. I

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope of the claim, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

A self-propelled water. sprinkler comprising a casing having an axleextending transversely therethrough, a wheel mounted at each endof'sai'd axle, a roller positioned in front of said casing andsupported-thereby, a vertical drive shaft positioned in said casing andrising above the top of the latter, a spray head affixed to the top ofsaid drive shaft and adapted to rotate the latter, said drive shafthaving an inlet at its lower end, means to connect a source of waterunder pressure to said inlet to flow through said drive shaft into saidspray head to rotate the latter,,a drive gear aflixed to said axle, agear engaging said drive gear, a star wheel rigidly mounted with respectto said gear on the same axis thereof, a worm affixed to said driveshaft, a worm gear engaged'by said worm for rotation by the latter, saidworm gear carrying a stud adapted successively to engage the teeth ofsaid star wheel to effect intermittent rotation of the latter to drivesaid axle upon rotation of said drive shaft, a ratchet wheel affixed tothe shaft mounting said star wheel and said gear, a ratchet arm engagingsaid ratchet wheel and resilient means retaining said ratchet armagainst said ratchet wheel to permit rotation of the latter in but asingle direction.

References Cited in the file oflthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

